Bowls: Bainfield's strength in depth too much for Allander in Cup

BAINFIELD'S bid to emulate their indoor bowls Scottish Cup winning campaign of the 2008 season got off to an encouraging start with a spectacular 64-shot victory over Allander in the prelim round action at Falkirk.

It was a win that came as no surprise given that Bainfield have just won promotion to the Premier League while the opposition finished bottom of their Division 2 section.

"The gulf in class was evident right from the off and that explains the massive shot margin we achieved in a game where we led from start to finish," said team manager John Bell of Bainfield.

"Given that you never know where the next banana skin will come from in this sport the satisfying aspect for me is that we treated the opposition with respect and managed to keep focus and concentration for the full span of the match.

"Allander did have some players of high individual ability but we have that in abundance throughout the team and our strength in depth is a major factor of our success so far this season."

The four Bainfield rinks, skipped by Paul O'Donnell, Gavin Smith, Jamie Gracie and Robert Marshall, all won making it a solid performance from a team that included Willie McDonald as a late replacement for Gary Purdie.

The highlight performance of the match was orchestrated by 24-year-old O'Donnell who conducted Craig Paterson, Stuart Patterson and teenager Jamie Aitken to a virtuoso display and resounding 30-shot triumph over Vic Beattie.